Washington state Senate approves K-12 education funding bill

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington state Senate has passed a measure that would help fund K-12 education by lowering the state's debt limit and eliminating voter-approved cost-of-living raises for schoolteachers.

Bill supporters say it would help the state with its obligation to meet a Washington Supreme Court demand that it fully fund K-12 education, and that it would do so without raising taxes.

Opponents object to moving hundreds of millions of dollars from the capital budget to go toward funding education, asserting that it sacrifices construction jobs and projects in the effort to pay for schools.

The measure passed Tuesday by a 25-23 vote and heads next to the Democratic-controlled House, where a majority favors raising tax revenues to help boost education funding.